Past Experiences
by TheBlackBeltGamer
Summary: In an effort to protect her, the spirits have acted in an unusual way. Korra must now relearn everything she thought she knew and try to return back home while regaining everything she has lost. The world is in a state of unbalance now, and Korra and Aang will need to work together to correct it. Hopefully, Korra can do so without revealing her true identity. AU Time travel
1. Ch 1 The Girl in the Snow

**The Girl in the Snow**

The wind was picking up, snow blowing around more and more. I pulled my hood closer to my body, breathing out as I continued to move. The hunt was tiring, but Bato had spotted a small herd of Yak the yesterday (said there were four or five) and the fresh source of meat would do wonders for the tribe, not to mention the skins would help us prepare for the endless night during the winter. But hunting the damn things was proving to be a nightmare. We had no idea if we were even traveling in the right direction. Still, we pressed on, at least some of the men had taken to the sea's to fish and harvest something else just in case this mission turned out to be worthless. We slowly made our way up on of the snow hills, scanning out across the land in search of the Yak.

Nothing.

"Chief, what do you want to do?" Nalus asked, probably noticing the beginnings of the storm as well. I paused and thought for a moment, we could either continue the search or turn back and see what the fishing boats brought in. Scanning the area one last time, I decided that we should cut our losses and head back before the storm picked up. These beasts were probably long gone by now, and this storm that was beginning to blow in from the east was not going to help us.

"We should turn back. Hopefully, the boats have had better luck than we did." I sighed, those Yak's would have kept us afloat for a good few days easy. There was a grunt of agreement, and the men began to turn and begin the long trek back to the village. I glanced around one last time, hoping that something would appear.

As I turned, a flash of movement caught my eye, and I spun to face it. There in the snow was a small brown object, blinking to make sure I didn't imagine it, and it was gone. I sighed, a gust of wind blowing from the east, and the brown spot reemerged. I moved towards it, curious as to what it could be, but gripping my spear tighter in my gloved hands, I didn't want to walk into a Mink snake home, those things could be nasty. As I got closer, the movement of the brown spot softened, it almost moved like hair. The winds moved the object again and I rushed forward, dropping my spear as I fell to my knees near the now noticeable small mound.

"Chief!" I heard someone behind me call out. I ignored them as I continued to move the snow off the object in question. The object became clearer as I continued to move the snow, and furs became clearer. I eventually brushed away a section that revealed brown skin, and eventually the back of a head. A person! I grabbed the snow near the shoulders clearing enough to pull the person free. She was larger than I was expecting, and heavier too, but I could clearly see that it was mostly from the muscle's that were clearly visible through her outfit.

"I need a sleepskin! Now!" I had pulled the person free of the snow, revealing to a girl maybe a year or two older than my own daughter. Part of her outfit was not made for this weather, her skin tight blue and white tank top was not helping her keep warm, unlike her sweats and boots. I was confused but saving her was more important. She was Water Tribe, that much was clear, from her hair and skin to the clothes that she was wearing. I could see small puffs of air in the cold against my own parka. She was alive, but barely. Men came rushing to my side I was currently trying to warm her up, rubbing her fingers and arms with my own. Turlaq had the sleepskin open and on the ground, carefully we both moved the girl into the skin, trying to avoid letting any more snow touch the girl's skin. If there was a doubt about choosing to not continue following the Yak it was gone now, this girl needed help, and hopefully, Noaidi could keep her alive once we reached the village. I don't know how long she was here for but it couldn't have been longer than a few hours, not in these clothes at least.

"Will she live?" Bato asked, helping me lift her and place her on one of the sleds that we had brought with us for a Yak carcass or two. Spare furs were loaded on top of her, trying to let her already low body heat try and warm her up. That was about all we could do at the moment. I would light a fire, but the winds would blow it out within seconds if we could even get one going.

"I don't know, but I hope so." I couldn't help but notice that she looked very similar to my own daughter, and my heart clenched at the thought of her being Katara in this position. Her parents have to be so worried, but we were the only village in the South Pole, so where did she come from. We moved at double the speed, rushing to get this girl back to the village. She was more important than some Yak, besides we can always go out and hunt again tomorrow if need be.

The village soon came within sight, "Hrothmær! Run ahead, find Noaidi and let her know that we need her assistance!" I saw him nod before running ahead, he was the fastest man in the tribe and if anyone could send a message quickly, it was him.

By the time we had arrived in the village, Noaidi was prepared with a fire near her tent and what looked to be a pot with water heating up.

"Hurry, bring her this way." Bato and I moved to lift her again and carrying her to the furs inside the tent.

"Dad! Dad! What's going on?" I heard my daughter ask as she rushed to us. I could see Sokka nearby, worry clearly painted across his face, "Hrothmær came running in calling for Noaidi. Is everything alright? I thought you weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow?"

Kanna had come walking out behind Katara, both waiting to hear about my trip.

"We found her in the snow, nearly buried. Had I turned a second earlier, we never would have found her. We don't know how long she was out there, and the storm that was brewing could have easily covered her in the snow."

"But, she'll be okay? Right?" It was easy to see the worry in Katara, her eyes trained on the tent that held our new guest.

"I hope so."

* * *

 **I've had this idea playing around in my head all through the final week of school and continuing into my finals week. I have read some similar time-travel fics but I wasn't a big fan and felt like taking a swing at it. What do you think? Let me know! Hopefully, I'll see you in the next chapter! :D  
**


	2. Ch 2 The Road to Recovery

**The Road to Recovery**

 _The looks of pity were deafening, I felt as if I was drowning in them._

 _"It's going to be alright, Korra." Tenzin eventually uttered, trying to stay positive despite what happened._

 _"No. It's not." I moved across the room, the thunking of my boots echoing in the room. Ignoring everyone as I walked by, I grabbed my parka and left. I needed to be alone, to deal with this myself. With everything that had happened, and was still happening, how could I protect the world as the Avatar if I couldn't bend all four elements? I could feel wetness on my cheeks, ignoring it as I walked outside in the chilling summer air. The cold only seemed to help freeze the water to my cheeks, but I didn't care. Naga was sitting patiently, her tail wagging as I approached. I couldn't muster up enough strength to smile at her. Seeming to understand my mood, she gave a small whine, her head nudging my chest as her brown eyes stared into mine._

 _"Hey girl." I cradled her massive head, before dropping my own into it, letting her soft fur hide my tears as I cried. This wasn't supposed to happen. I must be the worst Avatar in the world. The only bright side to that statement was that my past lives couldn't tell me that, but that only made left me feeling worse._

 _"Korra!" I stiffened at the sound of my name._

 _"Go away, Asami." I managed to choke out, muffled by Naga's fur._

* * *

I awoke to the sounds of a crackling fire. And it was warm. Really warm. I slowly opened my eyes, only to be greeted by the brown coloring of a healing hut. I shut my eyes, groaning as I felt the soreness in my ribs and back while I breathed.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up." A woman's voice sounded. _That's not Katara_ … I was now confused. I could have sworn that I was in Katara's healing hut. The bed felt hard now, must be why my back is hurting so much. I opened my eyes to see a lady in her mid-forties, what looked to be a slim build despite the layers she had on. Layers that looked like they were from some of the older and more traditional oriented towns and villages of the South Pole.

"Wha- Where am I? Who are you?" I sat up, knocking the blankets off of me. I hissed as a wave of pain surged through my head.

"You are in the South Pole. My name is Noaidi. Gave us quite a scare when Chief Hakoda brought you in earlier this week."

I looked at the woman again, "Chief… Hakoda?" Okay, now I was confused. "Where's my dad? Or Kata-gahhh!" I clutched my head again as it throbbed, squeezing my eyes shut to block out the light. Everything was beginning to hurt now. My back, my legs, my head.

"We were hoping you could tell us. Our Chief found you alone, buried in the snow nearly frozen to death." Her calm voice responded. I could feel her hands on my own, slowly peeling them off my head so that she could wipe it down with a wet cloth. The coolness of the water on my face was nice, refreshing. I let that coolness wash over me as I collected my thoughts, frowning as I tried to figure out what had happened.

"So… I'm not in the Royal City of Kalaalit?" I asked, looking back up at the healer. She seemed to be mixing something in the bowl that she was holding. She reached for a large wooden spoon and scooped out some water from the pot that was hanging over the fire. "Why don't you just waterbend the water out. It would be much easier."

"I don't know of any royal city in these parts, and as far as I am aware, this is the only village in the entirety of the South Pole. Plus the only waterbender we have in the village is an eleven-year-old girl named Katara." She turned back to me, a weird look on her face. One which I returned as she explained everything to me.

"No… that's not right. My dad is Chief, he rules over the South Pole…" I directed my eyes back down to the blankets on my lap. My sentence trailed off as I realized that they weren't blankets at my feet, but furs and pelts. I looked back up, taking in my surrounding this time. I wasn't in a hut, but a tent. _Where am I?_

"Noaidi?" A young voice called, before a head poked its way through the front flaps. My eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as I took her appearance in. Her bright sapphire blue eyes, the twin strands of hair that dangled in her face just slightly before reconnecting with the bun in the back. _The only waterbender we have in the village is an eleven-year-old girl named Katara._ I blinked as I stared because this had to be a dream. "Gran-gran wanted me to ask if you needed anything else…"

The girl gasped, "You're awake!" She immediately clambered into the hut and sat down next to me.

"Now Katara. Give the girl her space, she seems to have hit her head hard." Noaidi stated, handing me the bowl with the mix of ingredients, "Drink this, it should help the pain diminish."

I was in autopilot, drinking the mixture as I stared at the preteen in the entrance of the tent. _I'm dead, or I'm dreaming. Those are the only explanations for seeing Katara as a young girl._ I coughed after the first few seconds of drinking the stuff, pulling me out of my trance as I gagged.

"Ack! What is that stuff?" I continued to gag, "It taste like shit!" I kept trying to get the offending taste off my tongue with my hands.

"Language!" She scolded, I only ducked my head, forgetting that Katara wasn't much older than Jinora. "But, I'm surprised you drank as much as you did. Most can't even bring it to their mouths." There was an impressed smile on the healers face, causing me to stop my ministrations and haul my tongue back into my mouth. I swallowed, my mouth feeling dry and sticky as Katara giggled.

"Umm… thanks? I guess?" I smacked my lips together, the stickiness of the syrupy liquid getting stronger the more I swallowed.

"Here, some water should help." Noaidi handed be a small cup filled with the cold liquid. I guzzled it down quickly, swirling the last of it in my mouth to rid it of the leftover syrup. Smacking my lips together again just to be sure the offending taste and feeling was gone and sighed in relief when I could no longer feel a desert in my mouth.

"Thanks," I said, never taking my eyes off Katara for more than a second or two.

"So, what's your name? I'm Katara! but you probably already knew that when Noaidi said my name."

"Uhh... it's Korra..." I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to understand everything that has happened so far. _Am... Am I in the past?_

"Ahh, Katara, I don't need anything at the moment, however, could you pass the message along to Kanna and your father that our guest has woken up." This caused Katara to stir.

"Huh?" she turned to look at Noaidi before nodding, "Oh, yeah! I'll be back soon." She ducked out and the soft crunching of snow got softer as she left the area.

"Are you alright, young one? You look as if you have seen a ghost."

"I don't know… You said that she was the only waterbender in the South Pole?" Noaidi nodded, "And that you are the only village?" another nod, I looked back down at the furs in my lap trying to process everything.

"Is everything alright?"

"I think… I…" I felt my head spin as the world faded to black.

* * *

 _"Korra, wait." The feminine voice called out again, the crunching of her shoes in the snow getting louder as she got closer._

 _"I said, go away." I spat, pulling away from Naga to look up at worried emerald eyes._

 _"No. You shouldn't be alone right now. Just talk to me. Please." I moved back as she reached out for my shoulder._

 _"I don't want to talk, Asami. I just want to be alone. To think." I glared, though the blurriness in my vision seemed to soften the look._

 _"Korra…"_

 _"No!" I pulled back again, grabbing the reins to Naga's saddle and pulling myself up. There was a tug on my leg, I knew Asami had grabbed it before I could take off. And she knew I wouldn't tell Naga to go unless she let go._

 _"Korra, please."_

 _"Asami. Let go." I turned to meet her eyes, pleading silently that she would understand. Reluctantly, she let go. I snapped the reins and Naga took off, the wind in my face as we rushed out the front gates, and into the Frozen wilds of the South Pole. I could feel droplets leaving my cheeks as Naga ran, and I let them fall freely. No one was here to see them. But that didn't matter anymore. I wasn't the Avatar, not anymore. I was no one._

 _Eventually, we were at the edge of a cliff, looking over the southern arctic waters. Getting off Naga, I moved closer to the edge, letting the grief of what has happened finally take full control. I collapsed in the snow, hugging my knees to my chest as I cried into them._

 _I was a failure._

 _The world was still out of balance and I could do nothing to fix it. Not in my current state. Not ever._

 _I heard Naga's grunt-whine but ignored it. It was probably nothing._

 _The soft crunching of snow eased my mind as I cried, like a beat that acted as a stable point for my current predicament. I listened to it more closely, trying to pinpoint its exact beat. But it was getting louder. And louder. And louder._

 _Then it stopped._

 _A soft touch on my shoulder pulled me out of my trance. I looked up to see Asami standing there, before sitting down next to me. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to, we both knew that nothing could be said that would make any of this better. I leaned into her, letting her wrap my arms around me as I cried into her shoulder._

 _Eventually, I calmed down, resting my head against her shoulder as we both watched the ocean glittering in the midnight sun._

 _"It will be okay, Korra."_

 _"How? How will any of this be okay?" How could she even think that?_

 _"Because you're the Avatar. We'll figure something out."_

 _"You're wrong. I'm_ not _the Avatar. Not anymore."_

 _"What? Korra…"_

 _I choked back a sob, not wanting to think about the fact that I couldn't help Tenzin with his quest. Not like this. It would only be a matter of time before the world knew I lost my bending to Amon._ Noatak. _I mentally corrected._

 _I shivered from the thought. What would Aang think? What would he say if I could talk to him?_

 _"We'll get through this." Asami pulled me closer, her reassurance washing over me. "I know we will."_

* * *

I heard the sounds of snow crunching as I awoke again, breathing evenly as I tried to decipher if it was getting closer or not. Some of them would, and others wouldn't, but I couldn't fully tell, it almost seemed like people were marching around outside the tent. _Uggg, that was a crazy dream. I almost thought I was in the past seeing Katara at the age of 11-_

"Katara? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Kanna?" That sounded like Noaidi. I shifted into a more comfortable position, barely suppressing a grunt as my legs throbbed from the movement.

"I- uhh, yeah… I guess." The dejected reply came, I could almost imagine her with her head down as she continued to speak, something I would do when I got caught by my mother earthbending in the house. "I just wanted to check on her, you know." But her voice still sounded young...

 _Or... I'm not dreaming and I'm actually stuck here... great. As if I didn't already have enough crap on my plate to begin with._

"Yes, I can see that. I don't blame you, you know. It has been a while since someone new has entered the village, especially someone closer to your age." I frowned, they didn't think I was that young right? I mean, Katara is supposedly eleven (still absurd to think about since I remember training with her after I realized that I could waterbend at the age of four), but still… I thought I at least looked more like a teenager than a young kid.

"Do you think she is a waterbender?" I could almost hear the awe that was on her face, the hope she would have of no longer being alone in this village.

"Now Katara, even if she is one, she is in no condition to start waterbending. Her body needs to heal from the stress it has gone through. You should know that better than anyone." Wait, what happened that allows Katara to understand that? Did Katara go through something similar? I shuddered, a cough escaping though my lips in the aftermath.

"Is she awake?!" I didn't even have time to brace myself before a head popped into the tent. "You're awake again!"

"Katara, let me through please." I heard some shuffling as Katara disappeared from view and Noaidi entered the tent. Katara popped through again, scrambling to sit near me again her eyes wide with excitement and a large grin on her face.

"Alright, young one, let's sit you up." Two hands reached behind my shoulders, lifting me up to a seated position. I pulled the furs off my legs, wanting to know what the throbbing was from. I frowned at the sweats on my legs, letting out a small growl, I pulled the sweats up my thighs to see the damage.

"Woah…" Katara breathed, I only stared at the black and blue colors of my left leg that was visible under my rolled up pant legs. _What the fuck happened?_

"Oh dear. That doesn't look good. Katara, can you go fetch me some more water and begin to heat it up?" Noaidi spoke, moving to get a better look at the artwork on my leg. Katara nodded, moving to leave the tent leaving me and the village healer alone. "Okay, I need to get a better look at these so I'm going to need to remove your pants."

I didn't exactly want to do that, but I wanted to know what had happened as well. I nodded, not looking at her as she began to help me shimmy out of the article of clothing. My eyes widened even more as I stared at the horrific sight of the bruising on my thighs.

"Hmmm... this one almost look like the results of a bite from a Mink Snake." I hissed as she probed around the bruising, looking for something. "He had to be a big one to do this kind of damage. I should have some herbs that can help get some of the remaining poison out of your system, but it's going to be a painful twenty-four hours."

I groaned, "Great, just what I needed…"

"Well, be lucky you are still alive. Most of the time the limb needs to be amputated or you'd already be dead." She eyed me, her hands searching for the herbs and other ingredients to help me. I watched as she mixed the stuff in the mortar with the pestle, the smell causing my nose to crinkle as I was reminded of that nasty stuff I drank earlier.

"Don't worry, you don't have to drink this." She smiled, grabbing some cloth and steading the paste on one side. Kneeling next to me she moved my left leg up so that she could wrap the medicine coated bandage on my leg, she poked a few more times before finding what she deemed the puncture marks and wrapping the cloth there.

"The other one just looks like some standard bruising from a hit, but I'll wrap it just in case."

I hissed as I felt the stinging sensation of the medicine working. "Yes, this isn't going to be pleasant, but you will be much better afterward." She pulled the blankets back up and laid me back down so that I could rest, "You recovery should process much faster with the poison out of your system. It's a miracle that you have survived this long with the toxins in your system."

"I'm stubborn like that… GAHHH!" I felt my body spasm, my muscles locking as the medicine began to do its work.

"Noaidi, I have the water- Is she going to be okay?" Katara had returned, but I couldn't see her, too busy gritting my teeth as I felt like I was being turned inside out from this detox.

"She will be, the cleansing will be painful as the medicine forces the poison from her system."

"Oh, okay."

"Don't worry, Katara. She will be fine. Now run along, I'm sure Kanna has some things she needs you to do for the day."

"GAHHHHHH!" I slammed my head back against the bedroll, I could feel whatever it was in my body being drained rapidly.

"And let your grandmother know about our guest's condition."

"Okay, I'll be back later."

I felt a cool cloth brushing against my forehead, cracking one eye open, I spotted Noaidi watching me her eyes focused on me and my movements. Another wave of pain washed through my body, and I closed my eye again, gritting my teeth while fighting against the urge to scream.

It was going to be a long 24 hours.

* * *

 **Welcome back, everyone! So, the AU is mostly on the Korra side of the story, but exactly has changed will remain a mystery. Now, according to the Avatar Wiki site, the main city in the South Pole that Korra is from is supposedly called Harbor city... but I didn't realize that when I wrote the chapter, and I like the name I gave it instead. Supposedly, Kalaallit is the name of a group of Eskimo's in Greenland, and Noatak is a city in Alaska. I thought that second one was cool. As far as researching stuff about daily lives of Eskimo's is difficult, and mostly I just get the basic lifestyle and not much else, so if something doesn't sound right or accurate, I apologize in advance but don't hesitate to let me know. I like learning about stuff like that.  
**

 **Now I am also using the Avatar Wiki's to try and use actual Avatar world creatures and stuff to keep it within the general world. That being said, if there is some vague info, I'll modify it, like with the Mink Snake and how I decided to make them poisonous. Whether or not they are poisonous idk, all the wiki says is that they are from the south pole and they bite humans.**

 **And damn! This already has 103 views, that's crazy! This story has only been out for about a week! You guys rock!**

 **I want to say thank you all the reviews and follows so far! You guys are awesome! See you next chapter :D  
**


	3. Ch 3 The Newcomer

**The Newcomer**

 _It has been so long since a new person has shown up in the South Pole... I wonder how she got here? Is she from the North Pole? Where is her family? They must be worried about her. I wonder if she is a Waterbender? Oh, I hope she is! Maybe I could learn some new waterbending_ _moves from her..._ A scream tore through the village again, I shivered at the sound. I couldn't imagine how much pain she had to be in. Her screams had not ceased since Noaidi started treating her snake bite yesterday. _It sounds so painful, I hope she's okay..._ I turned to look at Noaidi's tent, _I wish I could help..._

"-tara. Katara. Katara!" I jumped at the fingers snapping in front of my face, turning I face my gran. She only sighed, shaking her head as another pained scream ripped through the village. Last night had been difficult, and I didn't get much sleep with Korra's screams. I don't think most of the village got enough sleep, but they all knew what was happening inside that tent. Last time this happened was when little Tula got bit, and those screams were just heart-wrenching.

"You need to relax. She shouldn't be hurting for much longer." Gran-gran tried to reassure me.

"I know, I know… but it sounds so painful. I wish I could help…" I looked in the direction of Noaidi's healing tent, my gut clenching at the amount of pain Korra had to be going through. Mink Snake bites were painful enough, but having the venom drained was even worse. Most of us know not to go near them if we ever happen to stumble upon them while outside the camp because of this very reason, especially after Tula's accident… _But what if that was why she was out there all alone when dad found her because she was bitten and needed help?_

"Katara, focus. Or you, along with the rest of the village, will not have any clean clothes for tomorrow." Gran-gran spoke up, I turned back to her and nodded. I resumed my chores, dunking the laundry in the warmed pot of water. I glanced back up at my gran, noticing that she was looking the other way, and pulled off my glove. I attempted to move the water around within the pot, hoping it would help make everything go by faster. I grinned as it started to work, the clothes spinning around and the soap bubbling as they cleaned themselves.

Another pained groan echoed through the camp, startling me, causing my hand to move in a different motion. The water followed my motion, and a soapy spherical orb was removed from the pot. I gasped as it when flying, soaking my brother as he walked by.

"ACKK! Katara!" He shouted, marching over to me, his hair soaked and dripping down on top of his parka. "Why do I always get _wet_ when you play with magic water?!"

"Katara?" Gran had noticed what was happening, and all I could do was curl in on myself. "What did I say about practicing before you finished your chores?"

"Now I have to change! Again!" Sokka stormed off, mumbling to himself as he made his way back to the igloo.

"I'm sorry…" I said meekly, putting my glove back on. "I just wanted it to go by faster so I could check on Korra."

I heard her sigh, "Katara, I know you are worried about her. Everyone in the village is, but Noaidi has it under control. Korra will be fine, you just need to be patient."

"I know, Gran-gran. I'm sorry." I made my way back over to the pot with all our clothes, grabbing the stirring stick and used it to finish the washing before hanging them in the igloo with a small fire to dry. As I was stirring, I noticed that the screaming had been absent, I turned to look at the healing tent, spotting Noaidi walking towards us with a bundle of cloth.

"Noaidi! Is she going to be alright? Is all the venom out of her system?" I couldn't help but ask, nearly leaving my post to talk to the village healer.

"She will be fine, but there was more than just the venom of a Mink snake." She explained, opening one of the rolls to show me.

I examined the cloth, a triad of colors painted the cloth. What looked like yellow from the venom, red from her blood, but the last color confused me. It was shiny, kind of like a silver yuan, and it was splattered along the cloth. "What is that?" I pointed to the silver looking spots.

"I don't know, but it was in her system. I think it's some type of poison, but it is not one I have ever seen. My guess is that she was poisoned before being dumped here in the South Pole." She frowned at the cloth, rolling it back up.

"Fire Nation." I growled under my breath, "I bet they did this." I couldn't believe that the Fire Nation could do something like this, but then again, I could believe that they would do something like this. _How could they be so cruel? To just dump her somewhere, like here in the South Pole, and nowhere near civliazation. She could have died! Oh spirits, she would have died if dad hadn't found her when he did.  
_

"Most likely. But she must have put up one hell of a fight if the rest of her bruises are anything to go by." Noaidi smiled, "She is a strong one, that's for sure. A warrior. Well, I am going to leave these here to be washed. I would recommend washing them separately to keep them from contaminating anything else."

"Of course, Noaidi. I will take care of them." Gran-gran said, taking the cloth from Noaidi and heading over to a smaller pot to begin sterilizing them. _She is safe now and that's all that matters. No use in worrying about what could have happened._

"Thank you, Kanna." Noaidi turned to leave, "Oh, and Katara. Korra should be ready for a visitors soon if you would like to come by and talk to her."

"Really?!" Noaidi nodded with a smile on her lips at my question, "I'll be over as soon as I'm done." I couldn't wait to see Korra, to actually talk to her. _I really hope she's a waterbender. I wonder if she would teach me some waterbending._ I couldn't help but get excited about having a real waterbending teacher.

* * *

I was hanging the last piece of clothing to dry in the igloo, I was finally done. _I can go see Korra now!_ I crawled out of the igloo before hurrying towards Noaidi's healing tent. The snow crunched under my boots as I ran, reaching her tent within seconds. I stopped just before the entrance, my stomach doing flips as I reached for the front flap.

"Ahh, Katara. I was wondering when you were going to get here." I heard Noaidi say from inside the tent. "Well, come on in." I took a deep breath before entering the tent. I looked around and found Korra in the same spot as yesterday, only she was sitting up and I could tell she looked a lot better, her eyes didn't have as dark of circles under them, her eyes shining a little brighter. She held a cup of what I assumed to be water in her hands, probably to help hydrate her after the venom removal treatment. The furs were still over her lap, but she was bundled in a parka instead of her tank top that dad found her in. She looked at me with an unusual expression on her face, almost like she was trying to figure out who I was.

"Hi, I'm Katara. But I already told you that yesterday… Umm…" I twisted my gloved hands in front of me as I tried to think of something to say. _Why was I so nervous? I was able to talk to her yesterday without a problem..._

"Well, I'm Korra, but I told you that yesterday too, so I guess we are even." I looked back up at her, she had a grin on her face. I suddenly felt much better, "Have a seat, it'll be better than standing hunched at the entrance of the tent." She patted the spot next to her with one of her hands.

I nodded, moving to take a seat and removing the hood of my parka. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Better I guess… stuff still hurts, but that's what happened when you get into a fight." She sighed, "My legs don't want to cooperate with me right now, and that's a bit frustrating."

"They won't... cooperate? With you?"

She only sighed, looking back down to her legs with a frown, "I can't feel anything below my knees."

 _She can't feel anything- Oh my gosh! Does that mean she- she can't walk?_ I felt rage and sorrow fighting for dominance within my mind at her comment.

"Do- uh... do you think you could walk eventually?" I asked. I didn't mean to sound rude or ignorant, but I'm pretty sure that's how it sounded.

"I don't know..." She seemed to only be able to stare at her legs from under the furs.

"I think, with the right therepy and technices that it could be possible." Noaidi spoke up, "But we won't know until we try."

"Really? You- you think I could walk again?" Korra looked up at our healer, hope in her eyes.

"Yes, but you have to be willing to get better, I can only guide you to the door. You're the one that has to walk through it." _What's that supposed to mean?_ Korra seemed to understand though, so maybe I just wasn't old enough to get it.

"So... Was it the Fire Nation that did this to you?" I asked, changing the subject while remembering the cloth that Noaidi brought us to sterilize and clean.

"What?" She looked up at me confused, furrowing her eyebrows and frowning while in deep thought.

"The Fire Nation. It's just a guess though, but it would make sense with the war and everything." I explained. It made sense to me at least.

"I- I don't really remember… But I guess that makes sense." She stated, looking back down at her cup.

"Well, you're safe here. So if they try to come back we'll protect you." I smiled proudly, though I caught the look Noaidi gave me, I tried to hide the sheepish look on my face. I don't think Korra saw it, and I don't know if we could actually protect her, but I wasn't going to let her know that.

"Thanks." She smiled, before thinking about something. I waited in silence waiting to see if she was going to say something. "So… Noaidi says that you're a waterbender?"

"Yea! Well, I'm the only one in the South Pole. I'm not very good thought…" I explained, watching her smile falter slightly, "Are you a waterbender?" I couldn't help but ask. I really hoped she was one. Her expression dropped as she looked away, and so did my heart as she responded.

"No. I- I'm not able to waterbend." She sounded so sad, I could have sworn there were tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Oh…" I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up like I did, but I really wanted her to be one so I wasn't the only one that was different here. We sat in silence while Noaidi was mixing something together, watching our exchange carefully. She seemed to sense the gloomy mood that had taken over with that comment.

"But… I have studied bending my whole life, and my dad was a waterbender." I looked back at her, hope surging through my chest. "I could… try to teach you what I know." I nodded my head enthusiastically. She only chuckled at my reaction.

"That will have to wait until Korra is feeling better." We both turned to look at Noaidi, she was moving back towards us, another mixture in her hands as she handed it to Korra. I leading away from the stuff as I scrunched up my nose at the smell. Korra did the same thing while reaching for the cup, trading it for the water cup she had in her hands, letting Noaidi hold it.

"Well… bottoms up." She grimaced as she plugged her nose and chugged the medicine. She started coughing the second she has swallowed it all. Noaidi took the medicine cup from her and handed her the water cup, which Korra greedily drank.

"That stuff is still nasty." She shivered, trying to hold back a gaging sound, and I couldn't blame her, it smelled gross so tasting it must have been bad.

"Yes well, it will help you get better, prevent infections from spreading due to your snake bite." Noaidi said, her back turned to us as went to clean the cup.

"I guess so… recovery sucks." I giggled at her pout, Korra cracked a small smile at my expense before yawning.

"Well, that seems like enough excitement for one day. Korra should get some more rest, she still has a long way to go before she is healed." Noaidi stated, turning back towards the two of us.

"Okay… Well, I can come back tomorrow. Right?" I asked, looking to Korra before turning back to the village healer.

"Of course." Noaidi smiled.

"Yeah, being stuck in this tent is kinda boring. No offense, Noaidi." She only smiled at Korra's response.

"Of course not. You seem like the restless type, typical for a fighter such as yourself." Korra only grinned at the response, puffing up her chest a little at the praise.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow Korra." I stood up, replacing my hood and waved before leaving the tent. I walked aimlessly, still happy that I was going to learn some waterbending from Korra. Well, she wasn't a waterbender, but she knew some things about waterbending so I guess that counts. Right?

"Katara?" I looked up at the sound.

"Dad?" I watched as he moved closer to me, looking behind me at the healing tent.

"Did you visit our guest?"

"Yeah. Her name is Korra. Noaidi says she's getting better, but still has a long way to go before she's all better, but…" I grinned up at him, not able to hide my excitement, "She knows some waterbending moves and she says that she's going to teach me! Isn't that amazing?"

He chuckled, "Yes that sounds like it will be fun." He rested his hand on my shoulder, "I'm glad there is someone who can help you with your waterbending. It will be nice to have another waterbender in the tribe."

"That's just great! More people to get me wet with that stupid spirit water magic." Sokka growled, appearing out of nowhere.

"Sokka." My dad warned. Sokka only crossed his arms.

"What? Every time Katara practices, I get wet. Now with two waterbenders I'll never be dry." He huffed, thowing his arms in the air with a bit of a dramatic flare.

"Oh… ummm, she's not a waterbender." I frowned as I looked at Sokka, who only looked somewhat relieved at that fact before walking off to do who knows what.

"She's not a waterbender?" I looked back to my dad, he looked at me confused by my statement.

"No. Her dad was a waterbender, and she used to watch him practice. Plus, she has studied bending her whole life, so she can teach me some of the stuff she learned!" I explained, "But it will be so cool. I'll finally learn some real waterbending!"

"Hmmm… well, either way, I'm sure you two will have some fun together." He smiled, I could tell he was happy for me. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak to Noaidi about our guest, Korra, right?"

I nodded when he said her name correctly. I wandered aimlessly around the village until I decided to go outside the camp and work on some of my waterbending until dinner. I didn't want to look like a complete failure in front of Korra for the first time. I know I told her that I wasn't very good, but that was sugar coating my abilities. I was down right garbage at waterbending. I sighed as I took up my normal stance and tried to move the water in a wave-like formation.

* * *

"Hakoda, glad you could stop by." I heard Noaidi say, "Korra just finished talking to Katara so I don't know how awake she will be." I turned to see a large man standing at the entrance of the tent, he was a middle-aged man with brown hair and blue eyes. His hair was long with some ancestral decorations on his left dread tails. He was a larger man, but not bigger than my own father when he was wearing his own furs and skins.

"That is quite alright, Noaidi. I just wanted to ask her a few questions, get to know our new guest." He smiled, before turning to face me. I was a little tired, but I felt well enough to talk to the chief.

"Hello, Korra. I'm Chief Hakoda. I'm the one that found you in the snow the other day." He said, moving closer to me, "Would you mind if I sat down?"

"Not at all." I smiled back as he took a seat. "Thank you, for saving me."

"Of course, I was worried you weren't going to make it. I'm glad to see that I was wrong."

"Me too." _Was I really that close to dying?_ I couldn't help but shiver at the thought. "So… You're the chief. Katara's dad?" I asked, examining him closely. I could see some of the family resemblances between Katara and her father.

"Yes, I am. Katara has not stopped talking about you. She's really excited to learn some waterbending from you." He said, gauging my reaction. I frowned, looking back down to my legs. "That being said, I do need to warn you about the dangers of waterbending here. My daughter is the last waterbender here in the South Pole for a reason. The Fire Nation have raided the South Pole trying to eliminate all the waterbenders, and they have not bothered us for about four years now only because they believe that there are no waterbenders down here."

"Sir…" I looked at him, I wanted to tell him that I would never betray them, but that died in my throat as he continued as if I never said anything.

"My wife, Kya, gave her life to keep Katara safe from them, and if you put her life, or the lives of the tribe, in danger from these practice sessions I will not hesitate to throw you back out into the snow where we found you." He glared at me, the seriousness of the tone causing me to gulp. I didn't exactly want to go back out into the frozen tundra's of the South Pole, especially since I can't exactly walk at the moment.

"I would never do anything to hurt her. I promise." I looked him in the eyes as I responded, hoping the confidence that I wanted to project actually came across.

"Thank you." He breathed out in relief, "I'm sorry if that came across the wrong way, but we have already suffered enough at the hands of the Fire Nation, and I don't want to lose anyone else in my family, and by that extension, my tribe to them if I can prevent it."

"I understand, sir. But as much as I would love to help Katara with her bending, I can't do so until I can walk again. I… I can't feel anything below my knees at the moment. I don't know how long it will be until the feeling returns, but I will do what I can." I was free of the poison, but everything below the knee was numb, and I couldn't figure out why.

"Hmmm… That is troubling. Could it be from the Mink venom?" He asked turning to look at the healer.

"I'm not sure, but from the cloths I pulled off of her, there was something else that was in her system along with the venom. I didn't recognize it, and we believe it could be from the Fire Nation."

Hakoda hummed in response, deep in thought. I didn't like the idea of lying, but it was already bad that I was here in the past. I still don't know how I got here of why I was here, but saying anything about the future could have drastic consequences. Even I knew that. Hell, it could prevent me from being born. I like my life, despite how much it sucks right now…

"If this is a new tactic from the Fire Nation, then we will need to be much more careful when we head into battle with them." He looked back to me, there was a form of pain shining in his eyes. He was hiding something from the tribe, or was trying to decide how to tell everyone… _The war._ I breathed in, _Of course, how could I forget._ _He has to leave to fight in the war. That's why he was so harsh about me training Katara, because he won't be there to protect her if something were to happen after they leave._ I exhaled as I understood his tone and expression. I reached out and grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes, I could see that he understood that I wouldn't let anything happen to his family while he was gone.

I would do everything I could to help Katara and Sokka be prepared for the future.

* * *

 **Well, that happened... I'm not sure if I like this chapter, but that could just be because I don't know enough about Hakoda to write him well enough. He didn't have enough screen time in the show, but I like him as the goofy but protective father type. This chapter gave more of the protective and serious side of him, but yeah... Other than that, I feel like the chapter came out well.**

 **So I already have most of the next chapter written, so maybe it will be out early, but we will see.**

 **Thanks to all the additional follows and reviews! You guys rock! See you all next chapter! :D  
**


	4. Ch 4 The Road to Recovery pt 2

**The Road to Recovery pt. 2**

I could feel the bruises on my knees turning a darker shade of purple as I fell for the fifth time in five minutes.

"Alright, let's try that again." Noaidi spoke softly, her hands already trying to help me get back on my feet. I gripped the snow walls tight enough to turn my normally tan knuckle white as snow, crushing some of it in the process. I groaned, I was exhausted from the exercise, who knew it would be this difficult to try and walk again. I have been working on this for almost a year and I could still only take a few steps. I would have had Katara try to help heal me, but after giving her the first waterbending lesson, I knew she wouldn't be able to do much if anything at all. The Katara I remember would probably be able to heal me no problem… well not immediately, but it would probably be going a lot faster than what I'm doing now.

"Okay." I responded, holding myself up with my arms as my shoes lightly touched the snow covered ground.

"Alright, just like last time. Close your eyes and picture yourself walking towards me." I closed my eyes as I listened to her voice. Grunting, I mentally ordered my legs to move. I could see myself walking to Noaidi, but actually doing so was a completely different story.

"There you go, now, take another step." I heard her voice encourage me, and I opened my eyes to look down at my feet. I felt the smile creep up on my face.

"I did it." I looked back up at Noaidi, her smile encouraging me to try again. I willed myself to move my other leg, picturing myself taking another step. I was almost half way across the two banks, and I wanted to make it today.

"One more. You can do it." I closed my eyes and breathed again, just need to move my left leg. _One more time. One more step. Just… one… more… step…_

"There you go. Good job, Korra." I looked up to spot Noaidi standing three feet from me... _I made it across?_ I couldn't stop the tears as I smiled back at Noaidi, I could feel my tears freezing as they tried to run down my cheeks. I looked at where I was compared to where I started. "You made it across."

"I did it…" I was in awe at what I had done. I couldn't believe it. I had made it across the entire walkway.

"Eight months ago you could only move your toe, and now you are close to being able to walk." She smiled at me. I couldn't believe how far I had come, despite the rough patches, it was alleviating the stress and the pain from not being able to do anything by myself.

* * *

 _"Alright, let's try something different." Noaidi said, moving to sit next to me. "I want you to try and move your toe. Image it and feel it moving." I looked at her, tilting my head as I tried to do as she said._

 _"So, I need to just-"_

 _"Close your eyes, and see you toe in your mind's eye, then see it moving." I closed my eyes, trying to picture my toe, and seeing it moving. "Once you can see it moving in your mind, feel it moving… Just like that."_

 _"What?!" My eyes flew open and trained onto my toe, tears of joy beginning to stream down my face. "I- I did it. It's moving!"_

 _I couldn't stop moving it, I didn't want to stop, afraid that I wouldn't be able to do so again. Just seeing the small twitches filled me with hope, hope that I could regain my life again. And if I could walk again after everything that had happened, then maybe, just maybe, I could regain my bending._

* * *

"Noaidi! Korra!" That sounded like Katara. Both of us turned to the sound of the voice as it got closer.

"Katara, were are over here."

"Oh! There you are!" Katara had come around the corner of the wall, spotting us on the other side of the village. She ran towards us, a large smile on her face. "How is the therapy going?"

"Good," I breathed, holding myself up on the walls still. "Just tiring. You would not believe how hard it is to walk."

"She made it all the way across today. I think she will be able to walk normally within the next month if she keeps this pace up." Noaidi smiled, hope surging through my chest again. To have my freedom back would be amazing.

"Oh my gosh! Korra, that's great!" Katara had made her way around one of the snow walls and hugged me. I grunted as I had to use my arms double time to hold us both up as she began to lean on me. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She released me, covering her mouth as she realized what she did.

"Are you okay?" Katara asked as she helped me stand. I nodded my head as she moved the sled for me to sit on. This sled was something that my butt has seen a lot of recently, and my current mode of transportation when I have to go anywhere outside of Noaidi's tent. How I wish I could have one of the wheelchairs from Republic City. At least with those I could be somewhat independent, wheel myself around when I need to get somewhere. But sadly, the past has its limitations, and I felt bad when I had to go somewhere because someone else had to pull me along just to get to where I wanted to go. The villagers say they don't mind, but I know it's just an inconvenience… and I know I lost some weight being bedridden for a while, but the muscle that I still have (and now rebuilding), isn't light.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She didn't look convinced, "Katara, I'm fine. I promise. Why don't we work on some waterbending?" I tried to change the subject, and it worked as she light up like the southern lights, her eyes shining like the sun.

"Really?!" I nodded at her, watching her bounce in excitement. She loved practicing, and she has come a long way since our first lesson. Her first lesson was also only three months ago, but that was only because Noaidi didn't let me do anything until she believed I could handle it physically and mentally. Don't get me wrong, teaching waterbending to Katara has been fun, weird since she was my waterbending master, but fun none the less. Still, you wouldn't believe how tiring physical therapy could be, hell I didn't even think I would be that tired after one hour or rehab, but I was exhausted. I still am, but I was also getting better, I want to walk again so badly and that is probably my biggest motivator.

Katara has been a big help as well, always being there to try and help out when she can. I think she was really lonely when the men of the tribe and her father left to help fight in the war eight months ago, and hanging out with me just made her feel better I guess. I'm not complaining though, it was getting really boring in Noaidi's tent. They did give me my own tent though, even if it is conveniently located next to the healing tent, it is still my own place. And again, having Katara around helped pass the time, she has offered to load me up on the sled just to take me somewhere rather than just letting me sit in my tent all day, but I won't let her. Mostly because she tried one time and couldn't really pull me. That was actually kinda funny now that I think about it.

* * *

 _"Katara, I don't think this is going to work."_

 _"Relax, Korra. It'll be fine. Just watch." She grinned, grabbing the rope at the front of the sled and turned. I raised my eye brow as she began walking, the rope going taunt as she tried to pull me forward. Nothing happened except her groaning as she trying to get the sled to budge._

 _"Katara-"_

 _"No… I- got- it… Just s-sit tight…" her voice raised several octaves as she continued to try and pull me across the camp._

 _"Katara, really it's-" the sled moved a fraction of an inch._

 _"See? We-we are getting- somewhere…" the sled had stopped moving again. I noticed the groves in the snow below her feet, trying to hold back my laughter as she dropped the rope panting._

 _"We can just practice here. All you will need is a little bit of water… which technically, we have abundance of in snow, but..." Katara just looked at me confused, I sighed. "Never mind. How about you tell me what you know about waterbending, and what you are able to do."_

 _"Oh, okay… well, I can swirl the water around in a pot, I usually do that to try and get the laundry done faster, and I can kinda make little waves in the ocean…"_

 _"What do you know about waterbending?" I pushed, I needed to know where was at in terms of the art… something I wish I paid more attention to when I was learning it for the first time._

 _"Well, I know that it's an ancient art that is significant to our culture and that waterbending is a way of life for us…" She looked to me, probably to see if she was on the right track with her answer._

 _"Okay… so, not a lot." She frowned, looking down in shame and probably really embarrassed about her lack of knowledge on her own Heritage. "But that is to be expected from a tribe that has no more waterbenders in it. So, let's start with the basics. Do you know who the Moon and Ocean spirits are?"_

 _"Yeah, Tu and La! Tu is the Moon spirit, and La is the Ocean spirit." She grinned, I had to mentally stop myself from correcting her about the Moon spirit being Yue… That was a future event._

 _"Correct. Now, do you know how waterbending first started? Where the people learned it?"_

 _"Ummm… The Moon I think…"_

 _I grinned, "Correct. Just like the other elements and how they learned from animals like the Sky Bison for Air, Dragons for fire, or Badger Moles for earth, the watertribes learned waterbending from the Moon as the Moon was the first waterbender. However, because we learned from the Moon this also means that the strength of our bending is tied to the phases of the moon. The fuller the moon the stronger our waterbending will be. Our people leaned how to push and pull the water like the moon after watching it for so many years. And that will be our first lesson."_

 _"It's over already?"_

 _"What? OH! No. Nononono. I meant that is where we will start. The basics of waterbending comes from the push and pull of the water. Feel the flow of the water as you bend it." I finished, Katara was staring at me intently, waiting for further instruction. "I want you to try and move the water like the Moon does. You said you can sometimes create small waves right?" Katara nodded. "Well, when you practice those waves, try to feel the push and pull of the water as you are bending, to feel it's movements like the Moon would." I lifted my arms, slowly moving them back and forth, as if I was going to waterbend the waves myself. Katara tilted her head, before understanding what I was doing, and quickly copied my motions._

 _"This is the best technique (that I can think of) for you to use as a way to begin feeling the push and pull of the water. Next time you are near the water try this, and see what happens." I smiled at her, "For now though, we are just going to work on the actual form of the technique, that way when you practice you know how it's supposed to be done."_

 _"Okay. Let's do this." She grinned back, determined to master her element._

* * *

"So, what are we going to work on today?" Katara bouncing in place, her eyes shining with excitement.

"What we did last time, streaming the water." She nodded, "Assume your stance, and begin." I watched as she pulled the water from the ocean, the long tendril reminding me of an octopus tentacle. I watched as she moved the water around, making loops and bending the cylindrical cone of water. Some of the movements could have been more fluid, but she was also still learning… I also didn't think I would have been this good of a teacher, but I guess we both get to learn something new.

"Good, now try to sever the tendril from the ocean." I instructed, carefully watching as her arms moved to do so. The water split from its home cleanly, "Good, now-" the water however didn't take to well to the movements of Katara's arms, plopping right back into the ocean, effectively splashing the waterbender trainee.

"Gahh! Awww… I was so close too…" She whined, a pout on her lips as she glared at the water. "What did I do wrong?"

"Hmm…" I studied what I remembered from her movements, trying to find what caused the water to ignore her command, but couldn't really find any… Her jerkiness, I noted. "While you had the proper movements, you are still a little jerky with the arm and wrist motions. Waterbending is about the flow of energy, and allowing that flow to let you move between attacking and defending, while also using your opponent's energy against them. You need to be fluid and graceful with how you control your own movements, if you don't move fluidly, then the water won't respond correctly." I couldn't move my lower body due to the shed, but I could provide the arm and wrist movements for her to watch and mimic.

"How do I correct that?"

"Practice. It's just going to take practice. It seems we both need to keep practicing and working hard to achieve what we want most."

Katara nodded, determination engulfing her as she exhaled while looking at the ocean, getting ready to try again. "We just keep practicing. I can do that."

* * *

 **Wow... that took way longer than it should have to get published... I blame life.**

 **I did want to add more scenes and make it longer, but I think that was what was taking so long because I was hitting a road block on some of the other scenes. However, I still am going to use them, however, they will just be in the next chapter.**

 **Next chapter will probably show more about Korra's timeline... But idk yet, but I'm still working that out. I didn't want to exposition dump with something that was only half ready, especially since I'm not even sure I want to keep what I wrote for that yet... Speaking of which, don't be afraid to ask about uploads because I tend to be lazy and a procrastinator, so if something like this happens again just PM me.  
**

 **Thanks to all those that follwed/favorited and reviewed! You guys all rock! See you all next chapter! :D  
**


	5. Ch 5 The Road to Recovery pt3

**The Road to Recovery pt. 3**

"But, Dad!" I heard Katara cry, I looked to the igloo from my position on the sled. "No! You can't go!"

"I'm sorry, Katara, but the Earth Kingdom needs our help. We have to go."

I inhaled deeply, and held it for a second then exhaled. I knew what they were arguing about, and I couldn't do much to ease her mind. She had cried in my tent in frustration when the news was first broken to the tribe a few days ago. Now that the men were packing up the ships and getting ready to load up, it has reopened the old wounds. I spotted Sokka trying to pack up his stuff to load onto the ships as well. I already knew that he wasn't going to be going with his father, but I couldn't be the one to tell him that. Only Hakoda could do that.

"But... But... You can't! I can't lose you too!" I heard her cry, and my heart went out to her and Sokka. "It's not fair!"

"Katara!" Hakoda called after her. I watched as she ran by, tears in her eyes as her dad continued to call after her. "Katara, wait!"

"Alright, Korra. Let's get you up and ready for another session." Noaidi spoke, breaking me out of my thoughts as she helped me out of my sled. I gripped her arm, using it to hold myself up as I was pulled off the sled. Noaidi helped me move to the training mounds for another walking session. I was doing pretty good and could take a couple of steps on my own without help, but needed a little bit of a warm up to get there first. My hands gripped the makeshift walls, using them more for balance than holding my body up, willing my legs to move on their own. I moved across the walls with a decent speed, it was still slow, but I could do it, before reaching the end and turning around to go back. When I reached my starting point I spotted Hakoda walking out of the igloo, his eyes tired and sad for a brief second before he looked at me.

"Well, look at this, you're walking pretty well now." A sad smile on his face.

"She has come a long way since you found her in the snow." Noaidi spoke from somewhere behind me. I looked over my shoulder to watch as Noaidi walked up to stand beside me. "I think she will be able to walk on her own soon."

"Really?" I asked, hope surging through me like a tidal wave.

"Really now?" Hakoda stroked his chin thoughtfully, "That's great news. I have to say, Noaidi, you have done a great job helping Korra."

"Thank you, Hakoda, that means a lot. But I only guided our newcomer, Korra had to do most of the work herself."

I smiled at the praise. I was so close, and it was a great feeling. I knew what he and Noaidi were thinking though, I was almost able to walk, meaning I was going to be a big help once they all left. After all, I knew a lot about living in the south pole.

"Thank you, sir." I smiled back. There was something else on his mind, I could tell. My dad always wore a similar expression when he was deep in thought.

"Korra," He started off, pulling back to think about his words again.

"Yes?"

"I know it is a lot to ask-"

"I'll watch over them." I responded immediately. "They are like the siblings that I never had. I'll do my best to take care of them."

His shoulders slumped with relief, "Thank you. I know it is a lot to ask, but I appreciate it. I'm sure they feel the same way about you."

"You might want to let Sokka know he isn't going before he loads everything up onto the boats though..." I looked out to the ice docks where the boats were stationed. He followed my gaze, spotting Sokka trying to carry a pack of supplies to one to the ships. Hakoda nodded before walking over to Sokka to talk with him.

"Well, if you are going to be watching over those two, we need to get you up to your full strength." Noaidi called from behind me.

"Right. Lets get to work."

* * *

 _The two of us sat there for a while, and it was probably way past dinner by now. The sun however didn't think so as it stayed put in its position in the lower portion of the sky. It may have looked like it was only five in the afternoon, but it was probably closer to ten or eleven at night._

 _"We should head back. I don't want everyone getting worried about me…" I sighed, not really wanting to leave this spot. I felt Asami nod against the top of my head, her movements signaling that she was beginning to stand. I copied her, standing and turning to look back towards the way we both came._

 _"Did you follow me on foot?" I really hoped that she didn't, but given how long it felt like it took for her to catch up, she probably did. I felt bad about that._

 _"Yes, but hopefully we won't need to travel on foot for the way back." A small rwar caught my attention, turning to the sound, I spotted Naga sitting happily with her tail wagging enthusiastically behind her. She leaped at me when we made eye contact, and I couldn't help but laugh at the amount of kisses she gave me._

 _"No, we won't." I laughed and I hugged my companion, "Come on, let's go home."_

 _Eventually, Naga let me go so that we could head back. I double checked the straps on her saddle before hopping on it myself. I pulled Asami up onto Naga's saddle, her arms wrapped loosely around my waist as I motioned for Naga to begin walking._

 _"Thanks, Asami. For everything."_

 _"Of course, Korra. Anytime you want to talk, I'll be here for you."_

 _"I've never had a girl friend before. Besides Naga. It's kinda nice." I mused, to talk to another girl that was my age was something different. But it was a good different, and I liked it._

 _"I agree." She giggled in my ear. I liked the sound of her laughing._

 _"So how long do you think talking to Mako is going to be like pulling teeth?"_

 _"Uh... about that... While you were gone, we kinda kissed..."_

 _I raised my eyebrow at that, only to bust out laughing. "That makes so much sense!"_

 _"You're not mad?"_

 _"No, I mean technically, I kissed him while you two were dating so I think were even."_

 _"You what?"_

 _I paled as my body stiffened. "Oh my god! I'msosorry! I thought you knew!"_

 _She laughed at my reaction. "It's fine, I already knew, he told me what happened."_

 _"Really? You were never angry with me after that?" I turned my head to try and look over my shoulder at her, curious at the admission._

 _"I was upset, but I could tell that Mako was beating himself up for it and you had been keeping your distance after that. I couldn't be that mad with the obvious attempts of you trying to keep your distance for my sake and our relationship." She explained._

 _"Well, I'm glad we still could make it out of that ordeal in one piece. I've heard less than stellar outcomes from similar stories."_

 _"Yes, the famed Love triangle at its finest." She paused, letting the conversation drift into silence._

 _"Is... is everything okay?"_

 _"Yeah, just thinking. You were right. It is nice to have a girl friend to talk too about this stuff."_

* * *

I sat up from my dream/memory, it was a nice escape from the current situation I was in right now. A smile graced my lips while I moved to sit up on my own, the images fading softly, or at least that portion of the memory was... the rest wasn't that great. I did miss Asami, I wonder what she would do in this situation.

I had plateaued a few weeks after the men left to fight in the war. According to Noaidi it has kept me there for two months now. There was something that was holding me back from fully recovering and both of us didn't know what it was. It was frustrating to say the least, because I could move around without any help, and even began teaching Katara some stances for waterbending as well, but every once in a while something would act up.

"Who's Asami? Your girlfriend?"

"Wha-" I rubbed my eyes, turning to look at Noaidi. A look of shock plastered across my face once I realized what she had asked. I could feel the heat trying to rush to my face as the second part of the sentence finally processed.

"You keep saying that name in your sleep. Asami." She clarified, causing me to frown. "I figured she was important to you. Best friend, girlfriend...?"

"She's not my girlfriend, just a friend that happens to be a girl. I don't wanna talk about it." I crossed my arms and looked away with a pout, a light blush dusting my cheeks. I couldn't help it, Asami had been on my mind a lot more before I was transported into the past. We were pretty close, she was my best friend, only girl friend but...

"You will need to talk about it at some point. Might I suggest writing your problems down somewhere. Might help, might not, but it's worth a shot."

"How do you know?" I looked back at her, arms still crossed in front of me.

"I don't, but your problems are more than just physical. Sometimes the pain we can't see is the one that is hardest to heal. You are suffering from something within yourself, and I'm beginning to think that this mental issue is what's holding you back." That sounded like something old Katara would say to me…

"It's not holding me back, I can walk again, I'd say I'm doing pretty well-"

"That may be, but you have been stuck at this point in your recovery for a while now, something that you should have overcome weeks ago, if your other progress is any indication to your will to recover… but you seemed to have plateaued, now whether it's because of a metal block or guilt, I don't know, but you need to sort it out."

"Guilt? _Guilt?!_ What on earth would I be guilty about?"

"Probably the lie about not being a waterbender." Her gaze bore into mine as she spoke, and I could feel my stomach sink while my heart leaped into my throat.

"I-Idon'tknowwhatyourtalkingabout."

She only raised an eyebrow at me, as if she was reading my mind while doing so. I had to look away, feeling the burning shame as it reached my face.

"Of course not…" She mused, the rustling of the furs seemed much louder than normal as she sat down next to me. "I've been watching you teach Katara the basics now that you can move around without assistance, you may not water bend, but _I_ know a waterbender when I see one. My aunt was a waterbender, but she was taken by the Fire Nation during a raid a long time ago. It's obvious that you are a waterbender as well. So why lie?"

"Because… I can't waterbend anymore." I felt tears forming in my eyes at the thought. Amon's mask flashed on the back of my eye lids.

"You can't waterbend anymore?" She seemed surprised by my revelation, I could see it in her eyes.

"I lost my connection to the element. It was taken from me..."

A knowing look appeared shortly after.

"It happened just before Hakoda found you?"

I only nodded my head, tears freely falling from my cheeks. There was some more rustling before I was wrapped up in a gentle embrace, which I returned fiercely, burying my head into her shoulder.

"Shhhhh… It will be alright, just let it out." I felt the soothing motions of her hand on my back, and slowly my hiccups slowed. All the shame and frustration of my failure against my Uncle, against Amon, against Zaheer, it all made me feel like I wasn't worthy of even being the Avatar. So I cried, let it all out like Noaidi said to, pulling myself closer to her in an effort to hide my tears. I let all my pain out, everything I had tried to bury that day when Asami and I were ambushed.

Noaidi held me close for the rest of the day, letting me feel safe and comfortable during the rare moments of vulnerability I showed.

"Here." she produced a few small pages of parchment from her wares, "It was left over from some of my supplies. I will never use them. If you want to use it to write stuff down, go for it. It might help to write this pain down if you don't what to talk about it yet."

"Thank you." I shuffled them around, "Do you have some ink?"

"I'm sure I have some squid ink somewhere." She pulled away to search for some ink, producing some after a few minutes of searching. I took it from her, along with a brush. This was probably going to be sloppy, but it was better than nothing.

* * *

 **Present Day Kalaalit City, South Pole**

The world was in a state of chaos.

Yet all I could do was stare at the box Katara had given to me earlier today before Korra's funeral, my hands encased by black gloves I wore for the service. The breeze from the window probably felt nice, but I was too trapped within my own mind to notice anything else. It had been almost a year since she disappeared, and at first we didn't believe Zaheer...

 _But now…_

I shook my head with the intention of clearing the negative thoughts from my head. Sobs finding their temporary home in my throat. Zaheer and his followers killed the Earth Queen, and they claimed to have killed Korra, but her body was never found...

She still hasn't been found, but evidence has shown up to suggest that maybe Zaheer _was_ telling the truth. It was hard to think that it could have been possible... to think that Korra could be gone. It was impossible, but we all saw the portal lights.

 _And now… Now it doesn't seem so far-fetched. The cave, the poison, the lava… It was all there like Zaheer had said, but Korra wasn't. They said there was a fight once they had administered the poison, and the cave showed obvious signs of an intense battle. And even then, even in the signs of the struggle, we knew that she didn't die there. The battle had moved from the cave to the snowy ground above and the signs of battle were much more difficult to find since Zaheer was an Airbender, but so was Korra. And after her battle with Amon in Ba-Sing-Se…_

I felt a single tear roll down my left cheek, a chocked sob being released from its home.

 _She could only Airbend, her connections to the other elements had been severed. She had to fight them all while only being able to Airbend. No wonder they went after her so quickly, she was an easy target._

The day the Red Lotus ambushed us had been the worst day of my life. By the time I had woken up, Korra was no where in sight and the Airbenders had taken me back to Katara's healing hut. None of us had expected the Red Lotus to attack as soon as they did, especially here in the South Pole. By the time I woke up and explained what had happened it was too late to mount an effective rescue. We all saw the spirit portal light up the already bright sky, and hurried to its location only to find nothing but a war zone. More tears freed themselves from the memories. I guess we eventually realized that Korra was never coming back, despite how much we wanted her to… I wanted her too.

 _It's not fair! Korra still had so much to live for!_ I wrapped my arms around myself as I cried quietly.

Korra had done so much in such little time. She took down the Equalist movement, reunited the Physical world with the Spirit world, eased Vatuu into a state of peace, and had restored balance between the four elements. Hell, she had even began to learn metalbending. Not to mention, the Airbending nation had been restored due to the spirit portals being left open, and I know that Tenzin would be so proud of her. Aang would be too, he probably never would have imagined that his entire culture could have been restored just by leaving the Spirit portals open after Harmonic Convergence. She had done so much in the short time I had known her.

"Asami?" I wiped the tears from my face, hoping to hide any evidence of despair before turning to the sound of my name. The box next to me rattled as I moved to place it on the floor by my feet, Korra's funeral/memorial service being too fresh in my mind to open the box.

"Mako."

"Are you okay?" He moved across the room to be next to me. He eyed the box, but said nothing, afraid to upset me further.

"No. I'm not. Everything is wrong. So, so wrong." I tried to fight the tears, but they over powered me, droplets spilling from my face as I shook my head. I felt Mako pull me into his arms, and I buried my face in his chest, crying as my emotions washed through me at full force. "I just… miss her."

"I miss her too, Asami."

What was the world going to do without its Avatar?

What was I going to do without Korra?

* * *

 **Hey look! I live! I apologize for the long delay (holy shit, half a year... damn...), but you know how life gets sometimes... It hit me light a freight train and didn't let up. Hopefully this semester of school isn't the same, well, I'm not working this semester so I'll have a lot more free time to write! YAY! :D  
**

 **I will say, I did have some trouble with the construction of this chapter, and after my impromptu hiatus, it is possible that some characters are OOC. Sorry if that is the case, this chapter was driving me crazy and I just need to post it and be done with it so I can move on to the next chapter.  
**

 **So... hopefully the AU Korra aspect has been somewhat revealed. I know it's all confusing, but for what I have planned I needed to switch around the order of the big bosses and their plans to take over the world and such. Season 4 is basically going to remain untouched, in fact think of this as that gap between season 3 and season 4 just with everything between S1-S3 scrambled. Sorry if that throws you all off or diminishes your expectations of the story... I tried to hint at the AU scramble in an a few of the earlier chapters, but it could have been too subtle. My apologies if that's the case. I have a general layout of the AU season order written down, if you would like to see it, just PM me and I'll send it to you. I may make adjustments to it as it is just a general outline, a lot of the finer points are issues, but I'll try to straighten them out as soon as I can. I have been on a LoK binge session (I own all four seasons) to hammer those out as we speak...  
**

 **What can I say, I like to torture the characters in the best way possible. If you are following my author page, you'll know that I have another story in the works as well, however, this one will take priority over that one. That being said, the next chapter for When we Fall is almost ready to be posted, so that should be up soon.  
**

 **You all think I am joking when I say PM me if I don't update in a while, I'm not. Spam me with PM's if I disappear like that again, cause I get distracted easily.**

 **Yea, so if you all are still going to hang on for the ride, we should be getting into Book One Water here within the next two chapters. Yay! I'm so excited for that. So until then, Peace!  
**


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